NFL Week 3’s best matchups
Week 3 of the NFL season is here so it’s time to take a look at some of the best matchups of the week. The NFL season has gotten off to a somewhat ugly start with quarterback play being down and offenses as a whole struggling to score. The early season surprises have been the Saints, Bucs and Vikings while the Bengals and Ravens have been early season disappointments. With that in mind let’s take a look at some of the most intriguing matchups this weekend.
New England Patriots (+6) @ New York Jets
Week 3 of the NFL season kicks off with an AFC East matchup on Thursday night football. The 1-1 New York Jets welcome the 1-1 New England Patriots to MetLife. This will be Aaron Rodgers first matchup against the Patriots as a member of the New York Jets. Rodgers holds a 2-2 record against the Patriots in his career.
While the Patriots have been a somewhat ugly watch through the first two weeks. The Patriots have been playing good defense but are limitedly offensively. Will New England be able to hang with Aaron Rodgers and the Jets weapons as Rodgers and his weapons start to build a rapport?
Houston Texans (-2) @ Minnesota Vikings
In one of the better matchups of the week in my opinion the 2-0 Texans head to Minnesota to take on the 2-0 Vikings. Sam Darnold and the Vikings have been the surprise team of the season so far. Darnold has been impressive in his two starts and Justin Jefferson’s super star start to his career has continued.
Houston led by the best young QB in the league CJ Stroud has been impressive through two weeks but not quite as explosive as they were last season. Will Stroud be able to find new teammate Stefon Diggs more in week 3? Also new Texan Joe Mixon has impressed to start the season giving the team a more balanced running attack. This is 1 of 2 matchups of undefeated teams this weekend. The other being the Chargers taking on the Steelers but that’s a far less interesting game in my opinion.
Can Darnold continue to play well or will Stroud and the Texans expand on their already 2 game lead in the AFC South?
Baltimore Ravens (-1) @ Dallas Cowboys
In the 4:25 game of the week Fox slot fans get an all too familiar face in the Dallas Cowboys as the 1-1 Cowboys welcome the 0-2 Ravens to Jerry world. Baltimore has been one of the biggest disappointments of the early season especially after losing in week 2 to the Raiders at home. Lamar Jackson hasn’t been sharp to start the season and he has fans wondering if he might want to play more in the preseason going forward after getting off to a slow start.
The Cowboys looked great in week 1 against the Browns but severely struggled in week 2 against a dominant Saints running attack led by Alvin Kamara. Can Dak and the Cowboys offense get back on track in week 3 or will Lamar and the Ravens finally figure it out offensively and get in the win column?
Detroit Lions (-3) @ Arizona Cardinals
In maybe the most exciting offensive matchup of the week the explosive Detroit Lions offense heads to Arizona to take on Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. There were many question marks around Harrison Jr. after a bad week 1 but he answered all his critics in week 2 dominating with two touchdowns and over 100 receiving yards.
While the Lions some fans preseason Super bowl pick have been up and down to start the season. Lions head coach Dan Campbell took responsibility for the teams week 2 loss and I’m sure he’ll be looking for his team to bounce back in week 3. Kyler Murray is one of the best athletes in the league and if he can continue to build on his chemistry with Harrison Jr. the Cardinals offense should continue to be one of the most explosive in football.
